


The Wrong Kind of Nightmare

by Gozzer



Category: Stranger Things (TV 2016)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst, Blood and Injury, Child Abuse, Expirement!Billy, Fire, Hurt/Comfort, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, M/M, Neil is a dick, The Upside Down, powers
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-07-22
Updated: 2019-07-28
Packaged: 2020-07-10 15:20:47
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 6
Words: 15,124
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19907881
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Gozzer/pseuds/Gozzer
Summary: Things for Billy Hargrove have never been normal. Being an experiment for some organization made him different from others, more than he ready was. But starting at a "new" school brings more than he bargained for. Starting with a young girl that has telekinetic powers and ending with different dimensions. With possibly someone who he can't seem to avoid.





	1. Chapter 1

The first time Neil got to see his son was three months after he was born. William Hargrove was a premature baby, being born four months early. His mother, Karen, went into labor in the middle of a frozen night in mid December. She had gotten up to use the bathroom when her water broke. Neil was woken up by his wife's pained screaming and rushed to her side.

As soon as Neil figured out what happened he rushed Karen to the nearest hospital in Indiana. He was shoved aside as the doctors had to do an emergency c-section. Hours later a gray haired doctor in bloody scrubs came out to speak with Neil. His baby was a little boy but there was a slim to no chance of him surviving the night.

The second the doctor said it was okay to see Karen, Neil sped into the emergency room. She was still sleeping and Neil was forced to name their baby. He chose William after Karen's grandfather and quickly signed the birth certificate. For Neil the thought of naming his son with the knowledge that he might not survive was devastating. Why bother naming a kid who is probably never going to get a chance to live up to it?

Karen woke up a few hours after Neil signed the certificate. The first thing she asked was where her baby was. Neil told her what the doctor told him and held his wife as she cried. It broke his heart to see his wife in such pain and not knowing how to fix it. A doctor came in to explain the situation to Karen. An hour later and Karen was taken to see her baby boy. Neil refused to go see William for he didn't want to make things worse for himself. What's the point of visiting someone who probably isn't going to live? Why put yourself through the pain when you knew it was coming?

For the next three months Neil would refuse to see his son. He always had the thought that William wasn't going to make it. That his son was too young and weak to survive. Karen ignored her husband's thoughts and went to see her baby everyday. She couldn't ignore the motherly tug she felt every time she got near William.

After the first two months Karen was allowed to hold little William. The blonde hair baby cried and cried while his mother held him. Many of the nurses felt bad for the baby and his mother. It was always hard to watch a mother hold her premature baby for the first time. They didn't get that bonding experience that happens when a mother holds her baby after it was born.

When a baby is born four months early it takes a strain on the parents. It costs thousands of dollars to keep a child in the hospital and that usually taxes a budget. Combine that with the thoughts of their baby not living causes arguing between the pair. Karen and Neil were no exception to this. They fought constantly about how they were going to pay for the bills and their baby. Neil focused on the fact that William will most likely never make it out of the hospital. Karen hated that her husband didn't believe in the power of their son. She knew that William would one day make it out of that Indiana hospital and do something great when he grew up.

Three months had past since William was born and Neil finally saw his son. Karen drug her husband into the nursery to force him to meet William. The little blonde curly haired baby was sleeping calmly on a small bed covered with a pastel yellow blanket. The doctors said that the Hargrove's could finally take home their son a week later. Neil held William for the first time on their way out of the hospital.

It was William's first birthday on December 18th. Karen was playing with him in the living room when Neil came through the door with a man behind him. The man was young with brown hair that was starting to gray at the temples. He dressed in a nice suit and carried a briefcase.

Karen was surprised at the burst and looked up startled. William was a very inquisitive child. He was always into something he shouldn't be and watching as his parents exchanged harsh words. This moment was no different. The baby watched as his parents interacted with the new man. His bright blue eyes stared at the man with a blank expression.

The man crouched in front of William and spoke a few words to Neil and Karen. Saying that the young boy would do amazing in a new program taking place in Hawkins Lab. Karen refused immediately, not wanting her son part of some new program that she didn't know. Neil on the other hand was always on board with the idea ever since he had heard about it.

Karen kicked the man out of her house without even considering the proposition. This led to another reason for Neil and Karen to fight. Neil still believed that William wasn't going to make it in the world. He wanted his son to be apart of something that could help him. For he believed that William was going to be useless and the new program gave him a chance to be useful. Karen saw it as the opposite. The program was going to ruin any chance William had at a good normal life.

William was only six when his mother died. She was hit by a drunk driver and died in the hospital on December 18th. It was harsh for William to know his mother died on his birthday. But when William thought things couldn't get worse they did.

Neil refused to call him by his real name, only referring to him as Billy. The mysterious man that tried to recruit William for his new program showed back up. He was always present in William's life from a young age. Neil would have him visit when Karen was gone and discuss the plan for William. The young boy was to be entered into the program at the age of six, with or without Karen's permission.

A week after Karen's funeral William was brought to Hawkins Lab. Mr. Brenner, as William finally figured out, forced a drug into William's system causing the boy to pass out. The scientists tattooed a bold 005 on the inner part of William's left wrist.

For the next five months William was only referred to as Billy, per Neil's preference. He was put through vigorous experiments and tests. Mr. Brenner was trying to unlock his talents before their time was up. Neil made the deal that they got Billy for five months every year. He didn't want to deal with a useless child and had no problem sending Billy away to be tortured.

After the first five months nothing appeared within Billy. Mr. Brenner sent the curly haired boy back to his father traumatized. The blue eyed boy wouldn't say a word for weeks at a time and the only way to get a word out of him was to smack him. Neil decided to move them to California the month after Billy was back. But every year Billy was sent back to Hawkins for five months; mainly just after school finished.

When Billy turned 16 Neil got together with a woman named Susan. At this point in Billy's life he was always angry. He hated the fact that every year he was sent to a shit hole of a lab to be experimented on. He hated that his father would smack him around just to prove a point. He hated that Neil got with a woman that already had a kid. And he hated little twelve year old Maxine. Neil thought that Max was a perfect child and never said a bad thing to her.

The summer of 1983 is when Neil married Susan. Billy was pissed and spent the whole next year raising hell in California. He took up doing drugs and never coming home. When Billy was home he wasn't sober and Neil beat him every time he got the chance. It only took a year before Neil uprooted the family and moved them back to Hawkins, Indiana.

Billy went from being a complete dick to flat out angry. He only had two weeks before Mr. Brenner would come to take him for five months, though he didn't know that the experiments were now handled by a different man. Susan and Max didn't know about Hawkins Lab and when Billy disappeared every year for the summer Neil lied and said he went to stay with his Aunt. When they moved back to Hawkins they were a bit concerned on why Billy always disappeared even with the shallow excuse that was given. It only got worse because he never was back by the start of the school year.

Neil refused to allow Max to start eighth grade without Billy being home.

Five months later and it was towards the end of October when Billy's talents finally showed. The scientist ran hundreds of test before figuring out that Billy could form bonds between people. The first bond that he formed was to Mr. Brenner's escaped subject, Eleven.

Dr. Owens was the new man in charge, and was pleasantly surprised to find that Billy was the only experiment that continued to be worked with. He didn't officially know Eleven but after reading her file he wasn't suprised that Billy connected with her. With her telekinesis and Billy's telepathy they would be an almost unstoppable force.

Telepathy wasn't the only talent that Billy exhibited. He also showed signs of being able to deal damage with fire. Billy refused to speak with any of the scientists after his talents were discovered. He chose to sit curled up on his bed communicating with Eleven. The thirteen year old had a hard time talking in full sentences but Billy was helping her. Within the last week of Billy's five months he became close to little Eleven, but outside of their bond Billy was still angry. He took it out on the concrete walls of his room, though not before blocking the bond with El. The scientists had to keep Billy's hands wrapped so he didn't break them.

Billy was sent home the day before Halloween. He drove his blue Camaro through Hawkins blaring his music while going 80. His battered hands tapped the steering wheel to the beat as he sped around a corner and almost rear ended a maroon BMW. A sharp laugh escaped Billy's lips as his car swerved around the car. Without sparing the BMW a second glance Billy took off towards his house. Just as Billy parked on the curb his bond with El sparked up.

Billy concealed his smile with a blank look as he made his way into the house. No one was home when Billy walked through the door. He knew Neil was at work and Susan was probably shopping, but he didn't know where Max was. Billy shrugged it off and made his way upstairs to his room. He changed out of the lab's sweatpants and T-shirt into a pair of his own pants before laying on his bed.

 _"Billy?"_ A sweet innocent voice echoed in Billy's head.

 _"Yeah twerp?"_ Was Billy's only reply before he started to drift to sleep.

 _"Can you... visit me?"_ Billy yawned and rubbed his blue eyes.

 _"El you know I can't do that. That stupid chief would kill me before I could even find you. It's not fucking safe."_ Billy usually tried to refrain from swearing while talking with El. Inside their bond he became a different person. His anger didn't transfer over and he felt relatively relaxed when speaking with El.

 _"Not safe?! Never changes! I.. want to meet. Now!"_ El never got the point of it not being safe. Dr. Owens took over Brenner's work and wishes to bring in the most promising subject other than Billy. He may not be as evil as Mr. Brenner but he has the same goal in mind, a weapon. Billy didn't like authority but he agreed whole heartedly with the Chief. They both just wanted to keep El safe.

 _"El, you have to at least try to see it from our point of view. We just want to keep you out of Dr. Owens' hands. I've had to deal with these people longer than you have and they are not forgiving. If they got their hands on you and myself at the same time it would be a disaster. We would end the fucking world at their command. Not to mention that bullshit gate you opened would be a big part of it. Look El, I don't want to be mean but you have got to fucking understand."_ Billy waited a few minutes to see if he would get a reply before he felt El cut off the connection. Billy sighed and closed his eyes again. It took but only a minute for him to fall asleep on top of the covers.


	2. Chapter 2

_"The last thing that passed through William's mind was the thought that he was gonna die."_

_Thunder rumbled and shook Hawkins Lab with a vengeful force. Lightning and wind made the florescent light flicker, causing many of the people in the building to be nervous. The storm was just as powerful as the one last year when The Upside Down was opened. Many of the scientists were on edge as their thoughts directed them towards that bloody night._

_Dr. Owens traveled down the lower halls of Hawkins making his way towards a certain room. It was 8:37 at night on October 13, 1984 when his renewed program made it's first break through._

_The room Owens was heading towards was large with a couple of tables that held paper and two chairs. On one of the tables was a machine that tracks brain waves and was hooked up to a young man. William Hargrove had multiple electrodes placed over his curly blonde mane with a blind fold covering his icy blue eyes. Electric shocks were placed up and down his body with two placed on his temples._

_"Okay Five, we're going to start off slow tonight. Every thirty minutes a shock will be sent and every hour the power will be turned up, understand?" Dr. Owens asked. William tried to pin point where the voice was coming from so he could glare._

_"Fuck you! That ain't fucking slow you son of a bitch!" William shouted in anger. He was tired and had no motivation to try tonight. The storm outside had him high-strung and nervous. Rain never settled well for the Californian._

_"Right, so here is the first round. This will go on until we get a result or you pass out." Owens pressed a switch on the machine and sat at the table opposite of William._

_Electricity poured through William's body, causing him to jerk around. He clamped his mouth shut to stop a yelp from escaping. There was no way in hell he was going to give them that satisfaction. Even after years of torture William refused to show any emotion other than anger towards the men. In many cases it made it difficult for him to make any progress, not that he cared._

_"Five, I need you to concentrate," Owens said. William flipped the man off before placing his arms on the table top._

_"That's not my name dipshit."_

_William closed his eyes and fell back into his mind. It was one of the many comforts he appreciated, the quietness of his own head. That was until it no longer was silent. Another shock rocked his body with more force than the last one. A scream echo through William's mind and the room around him._

_Owens looked up from his paper work as a piercing scream broke out over the speakers. His eyes darted towards where William had his head in his hands. A second later he lifted his head and wiped at his nose. A trail of blood followed his hand as it continued to pour out of his nose at a steady rate. Owens looked at the brain charts that continued to show high frequency waves._

_William looked around the black empty space he was confined. His blue eyes flickered around, trying to find something to focus on. Suddenly a young girl with a mop of brown curls and eyes stood in front of him._

_"The Fuck!" Slipped from his mouth before he could stop them. The girl stared up at him with an intense gaze. She didn't say anything as she reached for his left wrist. William flinched at the contact and hugged his wrist to his chest._

_"Wanna check," came a soft voice. William looked back at the girl to find that she had spoken. With a slight nod, he let his arm fall limp again. The girl picked it up and flipped it so the inner part faced upwards. Slim fingers traced over the bold numbers printed on his tan skin._

_"Brother?" The girl rolled up her sleeve to show him her 011. William stared at her arm in disbelief before searching her face._

_"I'm not your brother. I don't have any siblings," William explained gently. The girl shook her head violently and traced his 005._

_"Siblings. This says so." The girl pointed at their tattoos. William shrugged with a light laugh before placing his hands on the girl's shoulders._

_"What's your name?" The girl looked up at him with a confused expression._

_"Eleven. El, for short."_

_"Well El, I'm William. But everyone else calls me Billy." El giggled and wrapped William up in a hug. "Now, how are you in my head?"_

_"Blank space. Go to communicate." El started before placing a hand on her temple and one on William's. "Bond been created by you."_

_William scrunched up his face in confusion at her choppy sentences. Before he could ask what she meant another shock rocked his body. This one was stronger than the last one. El disappeared in a puff of blue smoke and William opened his eyes to darkness. He ripped off the blind fold with such ferocity that it almost ripped._

_"Welcome back Five. We all heard that little conversation between you and someone. Would you like to tell us who?" A sinister voice asked. William's icy blue eyes flickered around the room but couldn't find the source of the voice. Dr. Owens sat at the other table looking through a stack of papers._

_"It was Eleven wasn't it? I know you made contact with her. Just let Owens know." The voice hissed. William growled while wiping the blood off his face._

_Dr. Owens looked up from his writing to find that William had taken off his blind fold. The young man was looking around wildly while smearing blood on his face. On the monitor next to him the waves were still going crazy and bouncing around. It only took a second before Owens heard the man speak._

_"Hey fucker. Let me out of this to clean my face. I got a nosebleed because of your fucking shocks," William spat. Dr. Owens just grinned and turned up the levels._

_A shock traveled through William again and forced his body to convulse. Anger bubbled up under his skin as he watched Dr. Owens write down what was happening. A familiar feeling of wanting to hit something sprung into his mind. Heat washed over his body as he clenched his hands to stop himself from ripping off the electrodes. Before he knew what was happening Dr. Owens' papers burst into flames._

_"What the-" A shocked gasp escaped Owens as his papers burned in front of him. His head whipped over to where William was sitting. The man had a look of pure anger and shock on his face. Before Owens could turn back to his papers he watched as more blood leaked out of William's nose."_

"Jesus fuck!" Billy shouted as he shot out of bed. He was shaking from his memories, with a mix of dream input, of a couple weeks ago. The scientists were ecstatic to finally have made a break through with him. They put him through more rigorous and painful tests before he was released again.

Billy threw on some blue jeans and a white shirt before he left his room. He wasn't in the mood to do his hair and banged on Max's door. Neil and Susan had already left for work so it was his responsibility to look after Max.

"Come on shithead! I don't have all goddamn day!" Billy yelled as he walked down the hall toward the kitchen. Max shouted back at him but he was too far away to hear.

It was their first day together after five months of Billy being gone. He didn't know how she would react to him after so long. He had changed quite a bit in five months with his hair growing long and two very bold sets of numbers placed on his left arm. The most expected thing was probably a couple words asking why he left and that he was stupid. What he didn't expect was his vision blacking out and his hearing to disappear.

"Billy?" Max's voice carried into Billy's dark void. He latched onto it and drug it closer to him. A soft freckle filled face appeared in front of him with a frown. Billy saw a wisp of blue light surround his step-sister before the darkness vanish.

"What Max?" He asked harshly. Max scrunched up her face against his annoyance.

"I was just wondering why you were gone so long. Neil said it was to get away from Hawkins, but I don't believe him," Max said. Billy snarled at the statement as he made his way towards to front door.

"You don't need to be sticking your nose into places it doesn't belong. Where I went and why I went is not up for discussion. Get your fucking stuff so we can leave." Max gave him a hurt look that resonated throughout his body, like the hurt was coming from himself. But just as quickly as the emotion came it was gone and replaced by anger. The young girl stomped back to her room to grab her stuff and they were off.

When they arrived at the parking lot between the middle and high school they were screaming at each other. Max stormed out of the blue Camaro in anger and slammed the door shut. Billy growled in anger and shoved a lit cigarette between his teeth. As the cool Halloween air blew around him, he could feel his tattoos begin to burn. The young man stomped out his cigarette butt before rubbing the dark numbers and heading into the high school.

His first class had to be fucking Honors Math with a bunch of nerds. The teacher was a bald old man that didn't care what you did as long as you passed the tests. Many of the students were too invested in their work to notice Billy enter and fall asleep.

For the rest of the day Billy slept in classes and listened to kids gossip about him. Right before school ended El spoke up in their bond. Billy tried his hardest to not project the conversation over the speakers, for that was something that he could do quite well. A few other students noticed the way he tensed up, but refused to acknowledge him.

 _"Billy? I want to go trick or treating. Won't let me go,"_ El complained. Billy's lip twitched upwards at her small voice.

 _"I can't do anything about that twerp. The Chief is the one in charge of you. Not to mention how unsafe that would be. If you want candy just tell the Chief, he'll probably get you some. But I'm at school right now, so I can't talk much,"_ Billy answered. His blue eyes glided over the class before landing on a boy in front of him. He had dark brown hair that was fluffed up and wearing a red Polo. Something about him caught Billy's attention.

 _"Billy! Please? Need to get out!"_ El pleaded. A shuddered passed through Billy's body at her loud voice. Static sounded over the intercoms for a second before it disappeared. The students gave each other confused looks before going back to their work.

 _"Look El, I can't just take you out. My sister is already going out and if someone sees me with a kid other than Max, I'm in deep shit. You're just going to have to deal for now,"_ Billy answered. El let out a frustrated groan before leaving his head. A sigh escaped Billy's mouth as he laid his head down on the desk. He knew El was going to cause a fuss over Halloween, but he didn't think it would happen during school. Her voice almost slipped through his tight mental blocks.

"Hey Steve? Are you coming to Tina's party tonight?"

Billy looked up at the sound of a voice. His blue eyes landed on a ginger male talking to the man in front of Billy. A sliver of interest popped into his brain as 'Steve' answered.

"I don't know Troy. I have papers to work on for college and I doubt Nancy would want to go. But it's a possibility," The dark haired man in front of Billy answered.

"What? Is King Steve going to give up the Keg King title for a girl? What happened to you dude?" Troy questioned. He huffed in annoyance and turned away from Steve.

Darkness enveloped Billy's vision for the second time that day. The void where Billy was placed had one other person there. Max looked around desperately for help when her eyes landed on Billy. Her face scrunched up in anger as he walked closer to her.

 _"Stay away from me. I'm dreaming and I don't want you here,"_ Max stated. A deep chuckled escaped from Billy's throat at her childish ways.

 _"You aren't dreaming dipshit. This is in my head not yours. Now close your eyes and I'll get you the fuck out,"_ Billy said. Max narrowed her eyes at him. She studied his face before her eyes landed on the two sets of dark numbers on his for arm. 005 and right under it in what resembled chicken scratch was 011.

 _"What are those?"_ Max asked while pointing at his arm. Billy looked down and tensed up at the dark numbers.

 _"None of your fucking business, that's what. Quit asking questions,"_ Billy said defensively. The numbers started to itch as something started to appear under them. Dark letters started to bleed into his tan skin. 'Max' in bubbly letters glowed new on his skin.

 _"Woah! What is that?"_ Max gasped. Billy stared at his arm in surprise. His sharp eyes flicked up to meet Max's with anger.

 _"God fucking dammit! Neil is going to kill me for this. You need to fucking leave Max. It's going to be hell for you after this,"_ Billy warned. But Max took his warning as a threat. Anger flared up in her eyes before she disappeared in a cloud of green smoke. Billy's vision cleared to find Steve staring at him.

"What the fuck do you want?" Billy snapped. His arm burned at where the new name was showing up.

"Your nose is bleeding man. Do you need to go to the nurse?" Steve asked. Billy growled in annoyance as he wiped away the blood. His hand came back dark with blood and he swiped it off on his jeans.

"I'm fine." Billy snarled. Steve held up his hands and turned back around. The last bell of the day rang and Billy was one of the first people out of the building. He sat in his car smoking when he finally saw Max make her way over.

"Next time you take so long you're fucking walking home," Billy said. Max glared at him as she closed the door. She had just barely got herself buckled in when the car took off. The Camaro tore out of the parking blasting rock music. Billy's jacket sleeve moved down his arm as he banged on the steering wheel. The bold names peaked out from the cuff and caught Max's attention.

"So it wasn't a dream?" She asked. Billy glanced away from the deserted road to look at her.

"It doesn't fucking concern you. Dream or not," Billy snapped.

"But you have my name tattooed on your arm! I at least deserve to know why." Max argued. Billy pressed down more on the gas.

"No you don't. My business is not for you to know. I wouldn't even have them if we didn't move to this shit hole. It literally smells like shit Max. And do you know who is to blame for us being here?" Billy asked calmly. Max turned her head away as she mumbled something under her breath.

"It's your fault!" The car sped up past 70.

"Fucking say it!" Over 80 and still climbing.

"Say. It!" A shift of the gears and they were going almost a hundred down the highway. Billy spotted a group of boys down the road.

"These friends of yours? Ten points if I can hit all three in one go!" Billy shouted.

"Stop Billy! I don't know them, I swear." Max's eyes widened as the car came increasingly closer to the boys dressed in ghostbuster costumes.

"Billy please!" Max begged. A sinister grin spread over Billy's lips as Max jerked the wheel away from the boys.

"Whoo! That was a close one wasn't it Max!" Billy looked into his mirror to find the grass near the fallen boys was smoking before it caught fire. The grin on his lips didn't leave for hours after that incident.


	3. Chapter 3

Billy stared at himself in the mirror while smoking a cigarette. The only light came from a lamp near his bed. It left half of his face in shadows, shielding it from his eyes. He groaned in annoyance as Neil yelled for him.

He pulled on a leather jacket and gloves before putting out his cigarette. Not bothering with a shirt, he jogged down the stairs into the living room. Neil stood there with his arms crossed and Max by the door.

"Watch her, and be back by ten." Neil moved forward and clamped a heavy hand on his shoulder. "Try anything and I'll send you back. They already want to check up on you," he warned.

Billy nodded and waited for him to leave. Neil patted his back harshly and left for the kitchen. The sky outside was just starting to darken when Billy dropped Max off. He wasn't in the mood to fight with her.

When he arrived at Tina's party there was already a throng of people. He parked his car and pulled out another cigarette. The tip caught fire before going out, allowing him to take a puff.

Someone knocked on his window as they passed. Billy finished smoking and went to join the party. It was barely a minute and Tommy was dragging him out back.

They had a keg set up and a girl dressed as a cat was being held up. Five seconds later she was on the ground coughing. The boys prodded Billy and held him above the keg. Without a thought Billy started sucking down the beer.

"Forty five seconds!" They shouted. Billy hopped down from their hold and spit what was left in his mouth into the air.

"Look who's the new King!" Tommy shouted, patting his shoulder. He didn't really have a thought on the title, but his eyes caught 'King Steve' walking into the house; even being the new guy he heard all about who used to rule the school. With a wolfish grin, Billy walked into the house.

Steve stood by the door with a pretty doe-eyed girl next to him. His brown eyes left the room and stopped on Billy walking towards him. Billy stood in front of him with Tommy next to him.

"This is King Steve?" He taunted, eyes trailing up and down. Studying the god awful outfit he was wearing and possibly some of the fluffiest hair he'd ever seen. The girl next to him rolled her eyes and walked away. Steve looked into his eyes without a worry.

"You can have the title," Steve said. Billy felt irritation flow through him at the way the boy ignored him to follow after his girlfriend.

While the music was okay and the beer was fine he couldn't exactly enjoy the party. For the better part of an hour he sipped on a single can while turning down the girls that hit on him. A dark and churning feeling had settled in his stomach that made him wary and wanting to leave the party. It wasn't coming either Max or El that he could tell which meant it was his own feeling. He could only last another few minutes before the weirdness in his stomach made him have to leave.

He pushed his way out of the crowd and onto the front lawn; the feeling started to dissipate the farther he moved from the suffocating party. Most of the lawn he walked over was covered in cups and passed out people. Billy grimaced at the sight, never being one to like a mess. Something the people from the lab drilled into his head, messes lead to harsher training.

A dirty, rusting car pulled up and parked at the end of the drive way. Billy watched the boy inside for a second before wandering to his car. The blue Camaro sat on the edge of the yard, waiting to be driven.

 _"Billy?"_ A soft voice spoke up in the back of his head. Billy closed his eyes and sighed.

 _"Yeah twerp?"_ He didn't open his eyes until he heard a door slam. His blue eyes watched Steve get into his car and bang on the steering wheel.

 _"Can you come see me? Hopper is late again."_ Steve pulled out of Tina's and sped down the street.

 _"You're getting good at speaking."_ Billy avoided the question and hopped into his car. He started the engine, but didn't move to go anywhere.

 _"Coming or not? There's no one here, never here."_ The dark feeling swirled in his stomach, but he didn't know what it belonged to. _"Please."_ The pleading soft tone made Billy pull away from Tina's lawn.

 _"Alright fine. But only a few minutes."_ He heard El hum in agreement and went silent. The sky was dark and the stars twinkled above. Billy blared his music as he sped down a gravel road. The path he was following was engraved in his brain from El.

The road ended in the middle of the woods. Billy parked his car and stepped into the cold air. Without the heat of the party, he shivered slightly and zipped up his jacket. The trees around him didn't allow any light through them.

It was a five minute walk to the cabin he had never been too. El used to speak about it all the time when they first started talking. She didn't like being confined there, always wanting to see Mike. Who he couldn't decide if he was okay or just plain annoying from what El told him about the boy.

 _"Here."_ Billy stood on the porch with his hands in his pockets. The sound of multiple locks clicking filled the still air. El stood behind the door as it swung open. She launched herself onto Billy when the door opened far enough. He stumbled at the force but hugged her back.

"Okay, back in the house twerp. It's cold." El let go of him and hopped back into the warm cabin. Billy looked around the small space. His eyes landed on the TV playing Frankenstein.

"Glad to meet you finally." El flopped back onto the couch and waited for Billy to join her. He snorted and sat on the other side.

"We've met before." He felt awkward being alone with the kid. Siblings didn't really like him, then again he only had Maxine. El shrugged and curled up in her blanket.

"Not in person." Her dark eyes bored into his light color. They flicked down to where his numbers resided. "You have more, not only me." She leaned over and pushed the leather back.

"My brat step sister." El traced the bubbly letters with soft fingers. "Still can't control who it latches onto yet."

"Takes time." El pulled the leather back down and turned to the TV. Billy joined her in the silence, the feeling in his stomach not leaving despite how much it had lessened.

Twenty minutes later the radio behind the TV started to beep. Billy sat up with a start, having lost track of time. El hopped off the couch and went over to it. She traced the paper above it before huffing angrily.

"Late! Always late!" Billy stood up and checked the time, knowing he had to leave. El latched herself onto him, not wanting him to leave.

"I have to go twerp. I can't be caught here." Billy pried her off and left out the door. He heard it slam shut angrily as he jogged back to his car.

He just pulled back onto the highway when a police truck roared by. His car skidded on the pavement as he swerved to avoid it. Metallica played loudly, keeping Billy focused. He cursed at himself for loosing track of time. Neil was going to have his ass for being late.

Max was standing on the sidewalk, waiting impatiently. The second Billy stopped she got into the car. Neither said a word about how they were going to be late. A light was on in the kitchen when Billy parked next to a truck. They trudged up the back stairs, knowing Neil was awake.

Billy steeled his face before entering through the back door into the kitchen. Max sped passed Neil and into her room. The air was thick with tension when Billy placed his keys on the table.

"You're late." Neil didn't look up from his newspaper. Billy didn't answer and tried to walk around the table. A hand shot out and caught his fore arm in a vice grip.

"I lost track of time, I'm sorry." Billy answered, knowing it wasn't going to help. Neil put his paper down and stood before his son.

"We talked about this Billy." Neil let go of his arm but grabbed his jacket. Billy looked into his eyes, knowing what was coming. "You are going back tomorrow after school."

"Why? My five months are up. That was the deal-" Billy didn't get a chance to finish his sentence. Neil back handed him, hard. He would have stumbled if not for the grip on his jacket.

"The deal is whatever I make it. They want to run a few tests, you will let them." Neil let go of Billy and left the kitchen. Billy closed his eyes, refusing to let any tears slip. He clenched his fist and stomped up the stairs.

He had the only room on the second floor. There was only his room and a bathroom up there. Neil didn't want him anywhere near, so sticking him up stairs was a grand idea. Not that Billy minded, he didn't have to worry about being too loud.

The room was dark like he had left it. He didn't bother turning on the light as he stripped and pulled on a pair of sweat pants from memory. His bed creaked as he fell on it. He didn't bother covering up and fell asleep; worrying about the lab.


	4. Chapter 4

Billy woke up to a pounding on his door. "Billy! It's almost 7:30, get up asshole!" He groaned at the annoying voice, turning to hide in his pillow. The knocking didn't stop and caused Billy to groan again.

"What the hell do you want?" He shouted back. The left side of his face was tender and the muscles pulled when he opened his mouth. Max stopped knocking and he could hear her footsteps going down the stairs.

Billy rolled out of bed and got dressed for the day. Anger rolled off him in waves as the night before came back to him. Neil was making him go back to the lab after school. Never in all the years he'd been going had he been made to go back before the time. But then again he had never showed promise before.

"Well let's go Maxine!" Billy yelled from the kitchen. He stuffed an apple in his backpack and left out the back door. By the time he got his car running Max was jogging down the stairs. The chilly breeze pushed her hair into her face.

"You're skating home today." Billy said, not bothering to elaborate on why. Max just snorted and stared out the window.

The engine rumbled as they pulled into the school parking lot. Most of the students were already inside, considering the bell was about to ring. Max threw open the door and was out before the car was even stopped. Billy rolled his eyes and dug out his apple. While eating his breakfast he got out and watched the stragglers.

Nothing caught his attention as he threw the rest of his apple into the grass. He entered the building just as the first bell rang. Being late didn't bother him, so he took his time going to first period.

Only in third period did his day get interesting. It was gym and coach decided on basketball. Billy was assigned to skins, something he wasn't exactly okay with. It's not like he didn't feel comfortable in his own skin, he definitely did, but he just wasn't comfortable with his marks. They forced him to remember that stupid fucking lab and their horrible tests.

It was halfway through the game and so far no one had commented on his tattoos. As he got more relaxed and involved in the game, he didn't hold his left arm as close to his body. He was crouched down, blocking some kid when Steve got the ball.

"Harrington right?" Billy moved the guard the brunette. "Kinda thought you were the King around here. But you turned bitch." Steve didn't answer and moved to pushed around when he caught the dark ink on Billy's arm.

"Nice tattoos, but focus on the game." Billy pulled his lips back into a snarl and stole the ball. He sped down the court before throwing the ball into the hoop.

The coach called a time out while Steve left the gym. Billy paced the court and rubbed at the numbers and now letters. He knew someone was going to notice them, but he didn't expect anyone to comment on them.

Billy pushed back his intrusive thoughts and ignored them for the rest of the day. When the end of the day rolled around he had forgotten about Steve. The same dark feeling entered his stomach as he moved closer to his car. It came back twice as hard and caused the air to leave his lungs.

With a grimace he lit up a cigarette and leaned against the Camaro. Everyone would think he was waiting for Max, but he was actually stalling. He didn't want to go back to the lab, not ever. The place made him feel cold and angry. It sucked out every ounce of warmth and happiness he could possibly have; not even giving a second thought about doing it either. Just like Dr. Brenner and the scientists he can't seem to escape.

Something close to relief washed over him as he realized that he was almost eighteen. Once he was a legal adult he didn't have to live with Neil. Which meant no more lab visits, even if they came knocking on his door.

Billy finished his cigarette and hopped into the car. He pulled out of the parking lot in a cloud of dust. The road leading to the lab was deserted like always. No one ever went to the lab, not that Billy had ever seen. And he traveled the path enough times to have it memorized.

The guard standing in the box didn't bother stopping the Camaro. Everyone that worked there recognized Billy's car and just opened the gates. Billy gave the guard the bird as he sped past. He didn't slow down any as he pulled into the far corner of the parking lot. It was basically where his car resided whenever he was there.

Billy strolled through the parking lot up to the glass doors; catching sight of several white vans that didn't help his nerves any. His blue eyes flicked around nervously, while his posture was relaxed. No one ever got close enough to see how nervous he was all the time. Dr. Owens was standing in the lobby, waiting for him.

"Good afternoon Five. How have you been?" Billy narrowed his eyes at the short man.

"It's only been two days, how much can fucking change?" Billy snapped, not wanting to deal with this bullshit. Dr. Owens hummed and lead him through the building.

"It's only polite to ask." They stopped at his office. Billy gave the room a once over before sitting in front of the desk. "So, have there been any changes?"

"No." Billy crossed his arms over his chest. Owens nodded as he wrote down a few words in a journal.

"Okay, any head aches? Nose bleeds?" Billy looked away from the man and stared out the window. He refused to acknowledge the routine questions. "Five, I need you to answer."

"That's not my name!" Billy shouted and stood from his chair. Owens didn't flinch at the outburst but instead wrote some more. "And no." He walked the length of the room. His hands danced over anything he could touch. Everything he touched left a trail of smoke as he moved away.

"I see you are getting stronger." Owens nodded towards the smoking objects, picking up his pen again. Billy pulled his arms back to his body and the smoking stopped.

"So what? It's not like you can do anything." Dr. Owens just hummed in response as he continued to write in the journal. Billy tapped his fingers impatiently, waiting to be dismissed. The room was surprisingly warm compared to the rest of the building and it made Billy wary. He didn't trust anything that was different in relation to the lab.

"We have a few things we want to try before you leave. There is something that needs burned away, and it's good practice for your skills." Owens closed the journal and stood up from his desk. He gathered a few things and left the room, expecting Billy to follow.

The seventeen year old followed cautiously, not trusting the doctor. His eyes scanned the building as they walked towards an elevator. Billy grew tense as the air around them got thick and cold with foreboding.

He was about ready to explode with nerves by the time they reached the basement. It was somewhere Billy had never been allowed near, only knowing about it because of hushed whispers. They entered a sealed room with several people watching out a thick pane of glass.

Billy's eyes widened as he took in the giant hole that was carved into the wall. It was rippling and pulsing behind the vines that spread from it. A red glow peaked through the stringy substance that hung over the hole. Something dark and cold started to creep through his veins the longer he looked at it. His heart started beating harshly as sweat gathered on his face. Whatever that thing was, it wasn't something he wished to be around.

"This hole was made by our most promising experiment, Eleven. We have kept the damage under control since last year. The only way for it to stay contained is to burn it. We want to check if your skills are more effective on it." Dr. Owens explained as scientists pulled them into hazmat suits.

Billy tried to fight the men but was soon stuffed into the white suit. He glared at Owens and felt the burning anger start back up, and almost got rid of the sickening cold. But even with his anger nothing could burn away the freeze coming over him from the hole behind the thick glass. He turned away from the scientist and stomped through the open door, and into the weird ash in the air room. Owens followed after him but knew to keep a small distance between them. They came to a stop just before the black vines on the ground.

"Okay, Five. The floor's yours." As if understanding the words said the vines on the ground started moving to wrap around his ankle. Billy lifted his foot to shake off the things as a cold spike ran through his chest. Whatever this was didn't settle well for him; especially with the ever growing coldness sweeping his body. It would have freaked him out more if he wasn't surrounded by scientists and Owens.

"What the fuck do you expect me to do? You know I don't have any control." Billy glanced back in anger, trying to avoid looking at the wrongness on the floor and walls. Owens watched him expectantly.

"Then try to control it. The whole point of this is to learn." Billy turned back to the vines and tear. Warmth washed over his body as he concentrated on making something burn; finally the cold was melting away to be replaced with the burning of his own.

The vines closest to him started to smoke before catching fire. With careful control the fire started to grow and spread. All the vines surrounding them wiggled away, as if alive. Billy watched with a sick fascination as the vines burned. They moved and squirmed, trying their hardest to avoid the flame. But they deserved every ounce of flame they were getting.

The fire grew steadily and burned away at everything. Smoke danced in the air above, but never left the fire. Dr. Owens started writing in the journal again as Billy stumbled. Exhaustion fell on Billy hard as the cold started to seep into his skin again. His concentration flew out the window as he struggled to stay upright.

His flames disappeared, but unlike the other times with the burning the vines didn't come back. Instead what was left of them tried to move farther away. To get away from the burning caused by him; to find a safe space to fight back. And fight back something did. Vicious cold wrapped around his body like somebody's fingers. He squeezed his eyes shut and pushed everything he could into feeling warm again. When the freeze started to taper off he opened his eyes again to see Owens writing in his journal. White hot anger washed over him and wiped away the rest of the cold.

"Are we done?" Billy knew better than to start a fight with these people, but that didn't mean he didn't want to. Glaring as harsh he could he reached up a hand to wipe away the blood dripping from his nose. His hand bumped into the mask covering his face that had him burning a hole into the back of Owens' head.

A couple hours later, Billy was finally free to leave. The cold that was down in the basement thankfully didn't follow him once he left. Owens had had a few other tests he wanted to do and kept him longer than he wanted. The sky was starting to darken when Billy pulled out the parking lot. He was still tired from burning the vines away. He didn't even notice that his music wasn't playing until he parked outside the house.

For once Billy knew that Neil wasn't going to get onto him. The man at least understood that the lab would keep him late. When he walked through the back door he was greeted by silence. He looked around warily, not expecting the house to be quiet.

Before he could get worked up about everyone missing, he heard music coming from Max's room. He shrugged away his nerves and made something for dinner. The tests in the lab had him feeling jittery and bone tired at the same time.

It hadn't even been an hour since he got home when an extreme sadness and anger washed over him. He knew they weren't his feelings, he was too tired to bother. With a silent groan he reached out to where the emotions were coming from.

He wandered the dark space until he came upon El. She was curled up against an invisible wall crying. Billy approached her slowly, not wanting to upset her anymore. She lifted her head and looked at him with watery brown eyes.

 _"What's the matter twerp?"_ Billy joined her on the ground, but sat a fair distance away. El scrubbed at the tears and turned away from him.

 _"Everything."_ Billy didn't press her for an explanation and instead just sat with her. After a few minutes she calmed down enough and fell asleep. Her body disappeared and Billy stood up.

Before he could get to far out of the darkness his tiredness hit him full force. Nothing could stop him from falling asleep. He was just glad that he had moved back into his room and wasn't still in the kitchen.


	5. Chapter 5

Billy was tired and worn out the second he got up that morning. Like every morning before Neil and Susan were gone and Max was being a bitch. But he didn't have enough energy to argue with her and just told her not to be late after school. He went through the motions of his first couple of hours of Honors Math and History then came Gym. Despite not being in the mood to try he couldn't help besting most of the others.

He was low to the ground guarding Harrington as he moved towards the hoop. Whatever he was thinking and feeling during the game was washed away by someone else's confusion. His body moved on autopilot as he tried to figure out if El or Max was who he was feeling. The ink on his arm started to tingle; just under where he knew the 011 sat and 'Max' had taken up a place. Whatever she was doing was interfering with him, and he honestly hadn't even considered school when the strange bond was first formed. With El she normally just got frustrated and bored with being stuck in Chief's cabin all day so he didn't have to worry too much about her bothering him during school. But Max was in classes as well and had to deal with school just as he did.

Shaking away his sister's emotions he focused back on the game; knocking Harrington to the ground and stealing the ball. After putting the ball through the hoop he made his back to where the other boy was still on the ground. He held out a hand for him and ignored how soft the former 'King's' hands were.

"Plant your feet, Harrington." The advice slipped passed his lips before he could stop it. The thought of actually helping up the boy left his mind the second the words did. He dropped Harrington back to the before stalking off to avoid one of the girls asking about the odd surprise he was feeling.

The November sky after school was clear and devoid of clouds. He was leaning against the side of the blue Camaro waiting rather impatiently for Max. The chilly air was blowing and rushing up under the jean jacket he was wearing. Despite living in Indiana for the first six years of his life he didn't like the cold. California sun had spoiled him with its warmth even in the winter months.

When Max came out of the middle school she pulled him from his thoughts of the sunny state. Sharp eyes caught sight of the dark skinned boy following after the redhead. Billy recognized him as one of the kids El used to talk about. Nothing good followed those kids around.

It was almost two minutes before Max finally shook him off. Billy was hit with a sudden feeling of abandonment and jealousy. He narrowed his eyes at the kid before getting into the car.

"That kid you were talking to. Who is he?" Billy didn't look at Max as she got in the passenger seat.

"He's no one." Max said, staring out the passenger side window and avoiding him.

"No one?"

"Some kid from my class." Billy watched the kid walk back towards the school as he settled in the driver's seat.

"Why was he talking to you?" He pulled out a cigarette and before it even got to his mouth it was lit. No one was paying much attention to notice the oddity.

"About this stupid class assignment," Max answered quietly.

"Then why are you so upset?" It's not that he liked his step sister, or particularly disliked her, but he didn't want to be feeling whatever she was every moment of the day. He pulled the cancer stick away from his mouth and let out the smoke.

"I'm not!" Max looked over from underneath her hair. Her blue eyes strayed automatically towards her name that was peaking out of his jacket.

"He causing you trouble?" The air between them was tense. Billy felt her name start to burn as she looked at it. He shrugged the jacket sleeve further down his arm to hide the ink from her prying eyes.

"Why do you care?" She spun to face him directly. Billy didn't bother looking away from the windshield.

"Because Max. You're a piece of shit, but we're family now. Whether we like it or not. Meaning I'm stuck looking out for you." He felt her anger towards him spike up again at the insult, and maybe he felt a little bad about it. But he didn't bother trying to convey that as she turned away.

"What would I ever do without you-" Billy caught her wrist as it swung in the air.

"Hey! This is serious shit, okay? I'm older than you. And something you learn is that there are certain types of people in this world you stay away from. And that kid Max, that kid is one of them." Max tried to pull her arm away from the tight grip, but was stopped. "You stay away from him, you hear me? Stay away."

Billy tossed her arm away from him and started the car. He felt her anger melt away into sadness. The girl looked out the window, her eyes shining with tears. Billy finished off his cigarette and ignored the girl's feelings as they rolled around his head. She could sulk all she wanted but he was right about that kid. Shit follows that bunch of kids that El talks about like the plague.

Neil was gone when they pulled up to the backside of the house. Billy closed off his connections so they couldn't feel the relief washing over him. He threw the car into park without pulling up even close to the garage. Max was out before it even stopped rolling. He tossed a glare at her when the door slammed shut harshly followed by her storming up the back steps. Rolling his eyes he climbed out of the car to follow after her.

When he walked into the kitchen he heard Susan asking something that he didn't care about. Max answered her while he bypassed both of them. He went through the house before jogging up the stairs towards his room. Inside the space was dark like it always was for the blackout curtains were hardly ever pulled back. He flicked on the light switch that was right next to the door.

The room was a mess with the lights on. Billy recoiled at the sight of his clothes on the floor and several of his books lying next to his dresser. He spent the next half hour cleaning with his music blaring. When he was done he laid on his bed with a few books and his school textbooks. Not that he actually needed to study for anything, even though he missed the first two months of school, he just wanted an excuse to avoid Neil.

 _"Billy?"_ A soft crying voice distracted him from his book. He closed his eyes and fell back into his mind to find the young girl. It didn't take but a second to find El sitting on a couch.

 _"Something happen?"_ He sat down next to her, but didn't touch her. She brushed away the last of her tears and turned to him.

 _"Found Mama."_ She held up something that he couldn't quite make out. Possibly a picture of her mother but he wasn't strong enough to see everything.

 _"O...kay, is that why you're upset? You figured out your mom wasn't dead?"_ Billy looked at her with confusion, not understanding why she was crying. El shook her head quickly.

 _"Always told didn't have one. Told she was gone by Hopper."_ Billy nodded along with her words. He would be upset if someone had hidden the fact that his mother was still alive.

 _"Where is the Chief now?"_ He didn't much care for the Chief but something told him the man should be home with El.

 _"Gone. Left this morning, angry. Don't think he's coming back tonight."_ El looked up at him with round doe eyes. _"Can you come?"_

 _"I can try, but it might be a while."_ The young girl nodded to him before disappearing in that same cloud of blue smoke. He settled his heartbeat to come back to the real world.

When he came back to his room he was assaulted by loud music. He flinched violently and rolled off the side of his bed. The book he was holding fell to the ground as he scrambled to turn down his music. He didn't know why he still turned it up so loud when it bugged him so much some times. Maybe it was just to annoy everyone else around him. Which he could tell Max was despite being downstairs and no where near him.

Once the music was back to a manageable level he fell back onto his bed. The churning of El's emotions still moved through him even after he tried to stop them. They were messing with his thought process and making his mind fuzzy. He was going to have to talk to her about closing off her feelings when she was high-strung. Thankfully Max hadn't had a giant flux in emotion yet but he knew it wouldn't last.

Rolling onto his side to reach for his book he was stopped by a thought; one that wasn't entirely his. El obviously wanted to meet her mother; who wouldn't after finding she was alive. And she would go with or without him trying to help. He would give anything to see his mother again, but that was never going to happen. El has a chance to meet hers though and be damned if he let her go by herself.

Billy filled a duffel bag with some clothes and whatever money he had from past jobs. He didn't care that it was only Thursday and he was going to skip school just to help El. The poor girl would end up going to find her mom and probably get hurt or something on her own. The thought of pissing off Neil didn't even pass through his head, or how he was going to have to come with an excuse when he got back. He zipped up the bag and with his keys in his back pocket he left the room.

Instead of leaving automatically he stopped in the kitchen. Max and Susan were mixing something in a bowl on the counter while talking. He felt his sister's contentment and felt a little bad about ruining it; but knocked on the dining table to get their attention anyway. The duo spun around to face with questioning faces that mirrored each other, and if he didn't already know they were related he wouldn't have trouble figuring it out with them watching him.

"Can you tell my dad I'm going to be gone this weekend?" He knew to keep civil when talking with Susan. Not that he would be harsh to her, she was a nice person, but he also knew Neil would use any excuse to hit him.

"Where are you going? What about school tomorrow?" The confusion was clear on her face and in her voice. Billy could feel the relief coming from Max and shot her glare.

"I just have some things to take care of." He looked back to Susan with a fake smile on his lips. "And I can miss one day of school. It won't bother my grades any." And it really wouldn't. He never had a hard time keeping straight A's and getting into the advanced classes. Neil never had a reason to get onto him about school and for that he was thankful.

"Well, alright. But be carefully honey." Billy held back a grimace at the nickname she had given him. The first day they met that's what she called him and never stopped unless she wanted his attention. He never liked nicknames and probably never would after the Lab.

"Thanks." He didn't give Max an ounce of time to question him before he was moving out the back door. The second the door was closed behind him he rolled his eyes at Susan and her concern. Like hell she actually cared. He hopped down the stairs and threw his bag into the backseat of his car the second he opened the door. A moment later music was blaring as he pulled out into the street.

El didn't contact him the whole time he was driving, but he could still feel her thinking hard on something. He knew it was about going to meet her mother and how to get passed the Chief. The man would never allow her to leave if he knew, and especially not with him driving her. But what the Chief didn't know wouldn't hurt him.

When he arrived at the dead end he parked his car and stepped out. With the sun going down the air was colder than earlier and the walk to the cabin was torture without his jacket. He stepped over the trip wire and tapped out the secret knock she taught him when he got onto the porch. Locks clicked as they slid back before the door swung open. The girl looked up from the couch to stare at him. She clutched a picture to her chest.

"What the hell happened here?" Billy took in all the destroyed windows and literally everything under the sun covering the ground. He did his best to not think about the mess. El turned away from him and snuggled further into the couch.

"Fight." She mumbled around her blanket. Billy hummed in acknowledgement as he closed the door before joining her on the couch.

They sat around for a while before Billy decided to bring up his idea. El was half asleep curled into his side, blanket wrapped around her. He shook her gently to catch her attention.

"Do you want to meet your mom?" El blinked up at him before shooting up. Her eyes were shining brightly at the idea.

"Now?" She bounced off the couch and towards her room, not waiting for an answer. Billy rolled his eyes with a soft laugh at her actions. Sometimes he forgot that she was still only thirteen with everything she had been through.

El was still smiling when she came out of her room and trotted to the door. She opened the door and left without looking back at him. Billy just followed after her down to where the Camaro was parked. He didn't even get the chance to unlock the doors before the familiar click sounded and the passenger side door swung open. El dropped into the leather seat and had closed the door by the time he reached the road. With only the slightest bit of annoyance he got into the driver's seat. The address for her mother's house was given to him and they set off.


	6. Chapter 6

Billy decided he didn't quite like driving with El as a passenger. While she was quiet and didn't do much her taste in music was horrible and she liked to put her feet up on the dash. More than once he snapped at her to put her feet down, but like clockwork they would be back up there in a few minutes. He probably would have been more irritated if not for her excitement and other swirling emotions clouding his judgement. With all of her emotions he couldn't think clear enough to process what the actual fuck he was doing. 

At first the idea of helping her meet her mother seemed like a good thing; part of him still does but he refuses to let that guide him any longer. But barely an hour out of Hawkins and he was doubting what they were doing. He left the house with only a few words to Susan and basically kidnapped El from the cabin. If he didn't end up being murdered by Neil when he got back, or somehow El killed him, then without a doubt Chief would make sure nobody would find his body. 

The only time he actually got to think about the situation was when the kid fell asleep. It was just getting light in the sky when she dozed off, head leaning on the window with her legs curled underneath her. Like a switch had been flipped the emotions he was feeling disappeared to a calm lull of only his. Then a sort of panic hit him. He was taking a little kid, okay thirteen wasn't little but still, that he barely knew other than the fact that they both went through the hell of Hawkins Lab; and she decided that he was her brother, and he couldn't deny that he felt like her older brother most times. But that didn't matter. What mattered was that he had stolen a kid from their house without a single adult knowing to visit her mother hours away. He was so tempted to just turn around and go back, would have if it was just him, but the second he looked at El he knew he couldn't do that to her. 

So instead he shoved every worry he had into the furthest parts of his brain and chain smoked out the cracked window. 

El woke several hours later when the sun was almost at the high point in the sky. The first thing she wanted to do was use the bathroom, so Billy stopped at the next gas station. He took the time to fill the gas in the Camaro before heading inside to pay and possibly buy El something to eat and drink. The man behind the counter didn't even look at him until El came out of the bathroom. Billy felt his gaze on his back while he told the kid to get whatever she wanted. With every passing second he got more annoyed with the staring and could feel a familiar warmth starting to creep up on him. He picked up a package of something that looked like cookies before going up to the counter to wait for El to finish browsing. 

"So, is that your sister?" The man asked, eyes looking away from El to Billy. 

"Yes." He placed the cookies on the counter and looked at the cigarette boxes behind the man. "Can I get a thing of Marlboro Reds?" Billy looked over his shoulder to where El was making her way back through the store with a box of something under her arm. "I'm not buying Eggo's. Get a drink and something that doesn't need to be heated up." The girl glared at him but even with the growing pout on her face he shook his head no. She stomped back to the fridges and put the box back before finding something else. Rolling his eyes he turned back to see the man watching El pace the aisles. 

"I've got a few gallons of gas as well." He said, trying to get the man's attention away from the girl. The man just nodded and rung him up on the register along with the cookies and cigarettes. 

_"Get me water would ya?"_ He got a huff in response but a second later El was coming up to counter with a water, orange juice, and chips. She put the items on the counter and crossed her arms while giving him a glare. 

"Will that be all?" Billy looked back at the man to see him watching El again. Anger and protective instinct washed over him at the man's continued leering at the young girl. His arm shot out to grab the front of the man's shirt and slammed him into the counter. A shout of pain left him that Billy took pleasure in hearing.

"Look at her like that again and you're fucking dead." He snarled, slamming the man back onto the counter again. Burning warmth rushed through him and smoke started trailing from where he held the man. From both El and Max he felt surprise and confusion, meaning he didn't close himself off from them fast enough. It helped to flame his anger but instead of punching the pervert he threw the man away from him. Without a word he gathered up what was on the counter and started for the door.

Smoke continued to rise from his hands that had him handing everything to El encase they caught fire. The girl didn't say anything as she got into the car but he could feel her confusion through the anger. He dropped into the driver's seat and held back from smacking his hands on the steering wheel. Instead he closed his eyes and clenched his hands where they rested on his thighs; trying to control the burn rushing through him. Breath in and out, slowly to control his breathing and calm his racing heart. The warmth faded from his hands as well as the rest of his body, and he opened his eyes. He looked over at El to see her eating and looking out the window; without a word he started up the car and pulled out of the gas station.

An hour had passed by the time Billy spotted a mailbox that held the address he was looking. El had informed him that they were close a few minutes back but he wasn't really paying attention. He was still simmering in his thoughts and trying not to think about the man at the station. It didn't really help but with coming up to the cabin like house was bringing a nice distraction.

He had barely parked the car before El was hopping out and going for the porch. Rolling his eyes he locked the car before joining her just as the door closed in her face. Her annoyance was easy to see without feeling it for himself. Instead of interfering he stood behind her as she unlocked the door and pushed it open. He looked over her head at the woman turning back to face them with a look of bewilderment plastered on her face. 

"Want to see Mama," El said. Billy cleared his throat and took the attention of the woman away from the young girl.

"Hi, you must be Terri's sister?" He asked with a charming smile that he used on everyone he wanted something from. El tried to enter the house but he stopped her with a hand on her shoulder. _"You can't just enter someone's house without their permission. We're already doing the breaking part of breaking and entering."_ But even with his words the girl still glared up at him. 

"Um, yeah, I am." The woman answered looking from him to El and back a few times. "Come, uh, come on in." Billy let go of El's shoulder and followed her into the house.

Immediately El started asking to see 'Mama' while he hung back behind the pair. He didn't really feel the need to be right there with them as they moved through the house. The woman led them into a sitting room of sorts that had a few plants and a TV playing in front of a woman sitting in a rocking chair. Billy stopped in the doorway as they continued into the room. This was El's mother and she didn't need him around; and he could tell by the state the woman was in she wouldn't know anyone was there. Terri's sister stopped just inside the room and hung back with him while El went up to the woman.

Billy watched as El tried to get her mother to notice her and felt her distress when it didn't work. He had to turn away when all that came out of the woman's mouth were random words; rainbow, sunflower, breathe, and other things he didn't care the listen to. Instead of waiting around he went back through the house to the front porch to smoke as El talked with her Aunt. Sitting on the steps he pulled out a cigarette, lighting it just as he placed in between his lips and tried to relax. 

But even in the cool air, that was getting colder, he couldn't seem to find even a smidgen of peace from someone else's feelings. El was a swirling ball literally everything under the sun and Max was both confused and irritated. He tried to block them off but it wasn't working like he wanted it to. Tossing down the butt of another cigarette he was tempted to get up and do something to occupy his thoughts. Instead though he lit up another cancer stick and went to move it to his mouth when he paused. There was something he could do that wasn't going to destroy too much. 

Nodding to himself and he stood up to go to his car. He pulled out the trash from the morning and sat back down on the porch with it lying on ground in front of him. Like back in the Lab he focused on burning the plastic. The warmth spread through his limbs as the trash started smoking and small flames sprung up that he didn't allow to get out of control. While he hated the Lab and pretty much everything associated with it, he couldn't deny the fact that being able to start fires from nothing was cool. He stopped the burning and snuffed out the fires before starting them back up again. Smoke was gathering in a cloud above the trash that he waved away in order to see what he was doing. 

Blood dripped from his nose as warning to a break from practicing. He wiped it away with one hand while waving the other to clear away the smoke from the air around him. The trash in front of him was a pile of melted plastic and ash; and he made a move to throw it away when El spoke up.

 _"Mama knows we're here. Wants to talk."_ He didn't make a move to stand and felt her annoyance with him. _"Want you here."_

 _"That's great, twerp. But it's your mom, not mine."_ Laying on his back on the cold wood porch he stared up at the overhang while debating on getting another cigarette. The debated was ended for him when he felt El trying move him into the house. _"Alright, I'm coming. Calm your shit."_

The smugness coming from her brought a half formed scowl to his face that disappeared as soon as he entered the house. El greeted him at the door and pulled him into the same sitting room where the other woman joined them. Billy was pulled to the ground and handed a cut up hand towel. He lifted an eyebrow at her, and the TV playing static behind, and dropped the item into his lap. 

"What is this for?" El looked up at him before motioning him to pick the towel back up.

"So we can talk to Mama," she said. He sighed and picked up the white cloth; and followed El as she tied hers over her eyes. Terri's sister started talking and asking question that had Billy getting annoyed. It seemed El was too as she told her stop talking.

Billy wasn't sure why the girl wanted him to talk with her mother, and he wasn't even sure he would be able to. The only time he could use the mind space was when he was finding someone he was bonded to; he'd never tried it on random people. But even with his misgivings about it he was still able to find Terri. 

The empty darkness that he always found himself in wasn't as empty as he thought it would be. Both El and Terri were in front of him, but Terri wasn't the same as the woman in the rocky chair. She was laying on the ground clutching her obviously pregnant stomach with blood covering her dress. Billy took a hesitant step forward when the scene changed before the two of them. The void went from just Terri to scenes of her being put under to give birth, her baby crying as it was taken away, Dr. Brenner pulling away a face mask to show he was there while she gave birth, and her waking up to sunflowers in a vase. Several more memories passed by in front of him that he felt he shouldn't be seeing. These were things meant for El to know, not him or anyone else. Just as a door opened to reveal a small blonde girl and an older dark skinned girl Billy pulled himself out.

He took the blind fold off and tossed it to the ground in front of him. Opening his eyes he saw El still sitting with the towel and Becky, as he somehow knew, watched. Just as a drop of blood leaked from her nose he felt the same on his upper lip. He wiped away the blood with his hand and moved to stand up when El tore the blind fold off her face with a sob. Her sadness hit him like a brick and would have knocked him on his ass if he wasn't already sitting. Tears gathered in his eyes for something he didn't know of but he was able to clear them away with little issue. El had more trouble as she pushed herself up to attack him in a hug.

"Shh, calm down, twerp." He ran a hand down her back while shushing her. Her body trembled and shook as her tears soaked into his black shirt and leather jacket. 

It took her a while to calm down enough to tell him why she was upset, and he wasn't surprised it was about what had happened to her mom. It did surprise him that she was crying for the other girl she had seen. He didn't really have much to say on the subject because he never met any of the other projects nor ever wanted too. Dr. Brenner and Neil had the same opinion that he didn't need to interact with other kids or people that he might be like. He didn't mind so much as he got older but when he was younger he had craved some sort of contact with others his age. In the end it hadn't mattered much as he learned to be social and close enough to a human being on his own.

Becky pulled him from his thoughts by asking them to stay for the night. He was ready to protest when El accepted the request for them and left the house. While she went out and did whatever it was that she did, he stayed behind to make small talk with the woman. She wanted to know about the two of them and how Billy fit in with the psychic kid; to which he lied and said Chief was his father and adopted her. For a second he thought she wasn't going to believe him then she just nodded and carried on asking about something else. Thankfully El came back soon enough and took her attention away.

The three of them sat at the dining table talking until the sun started to set. Becky got up to start on dinner to which he pulled El up and pushed her into the kitchen to help while he went to have a smoke before joining them. He didn't actually help cook but instead set the table like Becky asked. Dinner was simple spaghetti that went by fast and easy without any of the tension he was used too at dinner times. The sun had well passed set by the time he finished helping Becky do the dishes and brought his duffel bag into the house.

"You don't mind if I shower do you?" He grinned at her from the kitchen doorway with the same charm as when he first spoke to her. Like he expected a flush crawled onto her face and had her shaking her head.

"No, no, it's uh, it's alright. You know where the bathroom?" Not dropping the grin he nodded to her and turned down the hall. 

Once out of her sight he shuddered and tried not to think about the disgust settling on his skin. He didn't like the attention he could get from older women, but knew how to use to his advantage. It made him sick to his stomach to think that someone twice his age wanted him. He used his charm on them anyway to get what he wanted, for it wasn't hard, but he really didn't like it. 

Shaking himself again he stepped into the small bathroom and closed the door. All that it had in it was a sink, toilet, and bathtub; not even space for a cabinet. He set his bag on the toilet and went to turn on the water for his shower. Once at the temperature he liked, super fucking hot, he stripped and stepped under the spray. The water probably would have burned the skin off someone else but to him it felt nice and warm. His curly hair didn't enjoy water as much. All the work he put in for it to be even somewhat tame left the second water hit it. Long blonde strands soaked up the water and washed out the product; and weighed his head down. He thought about cutting it short several times but could never bring himself to do it. Not only was he vain, he knew he looked damn good with long hair, but his mother had the same hair. The same unruly curly blonde hair that she also kept long and hardly ever touched. 

He scrubbed at the curls and washed away all the product he used in it. They were going to be annoying tomorrow and however long they were gone until he could put some product in them. Thankfully it was fall and not humid or else he would never have been able to step outside. 

Once done cleaning his hair, and body, he turned off the water and dried off with the towel he had snagged before entering the bathroom. Getting dressed in the gray sweat pants and dark red sweater he brought, he shoved his dirty clothes in the duffel bag. He slung the bag over his shoulder and stepped out of the bathroom. A cloud of steam billowed out around him and hid the small figure of El from him. She tapped on his arm just as he stepped out, and no he did not almost smack her, to get his attention. He spun around while opening his mouth to say something when she placed a finger to her lips.

 _"We leave. Go find sister in Chicago."_ Billy squinted down at her and tried to process what she said. Chicago. He didn't sign up to take her to Chicago.

 _"No. I only drove you to see your mother. You can go find your sister with the Chief later."_ He started for the kitchen where he heard Becky talking when El grabbed his arm.

 _"On the phone with people. Says we're here._ _"_ The slight panic and fear in her transferred clearly to him. He narrowed his eyes in the direction of the kitchen before digging in his bag for the Camaro keys.

 _"Come on, we're going back to Hawkins. To the car._ _"_ Before he could pull the keys out of the bag she stopped him. 

_"No car, must be quiet. Go to Chicago."_ His gaze hardened as he looked down at the curly haired kid. She held his eyes with determination burning bright. _"I will go without you. Must find sister."_

 _"We are going back to Hawkins. In my car and not to Chicago."_ He made to go for the front door but something held him in place. Frustration burned through him that both his and El's. 

_"Will go without you. No car."_ The grip she had on him wasn't lessening any even as he tried to struggle. 

_"What, am I just supposed to leave my car here? If she really called the authorities they would take it with them if we left it. And where the fuck would we go to get to Chicago? Not to mention that we need to go back to Hawkins soon."_

_"Bus. We walk to bus then Chicago. Car will be fine, can get it back easy."_ Billy sighed; there was just no winning with this kid. He didn't want to go to Chicago but there was no way in hell he was letting her go by herself. With a nod to her he was free to move again. Not wasting a moment she tugged him for the front door and they slipped out unnoticed into the night. 


End file.
